


Waves Crashing on Distant Shores

by NylonRabbit



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Abusive Parents, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, Day At The Beach, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mermaid kylo ren, Mermen, Modern AU, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:16:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27018676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NylonRabbit/pseuds/NylonRabbit
Summary: Stuck in an upsetting and unfulfilling life working on a boardwalk ticket booth for his cruel father, Armitage Hux finds solace in a new found merman friend named Kylo, who visits him on his lunch breaks at the beach.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 69





	Waves Crashing on Distant Shores

‘I don’t _care_ what the goddamn sign says! I want a refund, and you’re going to _give_ me a refund!’

‘But Miss…’

‘Don’t _Miss_ me, young man, just give me my refund! This place is terrible, the food, the rides, the amusements, they’re all _terrible!_ ’

It was just barely lunchtime, and Armitage was already sick of working the ticket booth. If the continuous, enraging sound of the fairground’s organ music emanating from the pier wasn’t enough to drive him mad, the constant screams of disappointed children and their angry parents would very soon be enough to pull the pin on his last nerve. He decided to give in, reluctantly opening the cash drawer and handing the seething, disgruntled customer her money back.

‘Now, could you just give me the ticket back so that I can void—‘

Armitage found himself being cut short, instead met with a shower of shredded ticket flakes scattered upon the short desk before him. He watched as the customer turned to leave.

‘Make sure you don’t trip on your way out,’ he muttered.

‘What was that?’ she swerved back around abruptly, slamming on the brakes of the pushchair she had been angrily thrusting forward.

‘I said, enjoy the rest of your day,’ he smiled back. Thankfully, she accepted it, unlocking the pushchair and storming away through the archway exit.

Armitage sighed, clocking in the loss of sales and gathering the shreds of torn up ticket. He’d have to find a way to stick the pieces back together somehow later for proof of return. Not that this would really do much to placate his father. Any loss, even one as small as a return on one of the shoddily made bucket and spades from the beach supply store was somehow Armitage’s fault. He dreaded the thought of having to tell his father that an angry customer had just hurled a family day ticket in his face and he’d handed her over half the notes in the register for the privilege. Armitage’s father owned the entire boardwalk and pier. From the rusted over rides, to the overpriced shops, and various other low-quality amusements, it was one of the only businesses bringing money into Armitage’s dreary seaside hometown, a fact his father, and supposed local ‘hero’ Brendol Hux told his son so often he may as well have recorded it to a soundboard to save time.

Working the ticket booth and various other stands situated around Brendol’s _almighty_ pier and boardwalk hadn’t exactly been Armitage’s first choice when it came to a vision of his future. Sometimes he wondered, how it would have felt to attend university, move away, make new friends…

But no. Brendol had made it very clear that would both never happen, nor would he ever supply Armitage with the funds or means to do so. So here Armitage was, twenty-two years old, trapped in a so-called ‘family business’ comprised of himself and his father who he was more than aware valued him less than a son and more as a dogsbody employee.

It hurt, but at the same time, Armitage had never really sought approval from his father. His mother had died six years ago, when Armitage was sixteen. It had been extremely painful for him to accept she was gone and move on with a life dictated by a man that had since held him to financial ransom. His plans of higher education of which his mother had encouraged so enthusiastically had been crushed the minute she’d passed away.

That day, Armitage had run away from the hospital, all the way through the town until he’d reached the beach, collapsing on the sand by the shore, sobbing his eyes out into the wet sand. In that moment, he’d pleaded with some unknown entity to bring her back, but it of course hadn’t worked. He longed for her ever since, she’d loved the beach so much, always taking him down to the shore in his youth, searching for crustaceans and rare stones and shells in the rock pools. She’d clearly known who Brendol really was for a long time, and had sought to save her son from him. But then she got sick. It wasn’t her fault, but the fact escaping Brendol was no longer a possibility had felt like a private, selfish pain for Armitage. Still now, Armitage visited the nearby beach daily. It was pretty much the only time he felt calm or some semblance of happy, and it was perhaps the closest he could get to escaping his father’s looming presence, and feeling closer to old memories.

Clocking out for his break, Armitage felt his mood lift slightly as he grabbed his shades and his lunch and headed out across the boardwalk. It was a particularly hot day today, and he was thankful for the cool breeze hitting his face from the sea as he approached the beach. He always walked on ahead of the more commercial area, not wanting to risk being spotted by his father. He’d not been forbidden from spending his breaks there, but in Brendol’s eyes, everything Armitage did seemed to be subject to scrutiny and ridicule.

The more secluded area of the beach fell outside of the overshadowing eye of the majority of the boardwalk and was deserted with the exception of the occasional dog walker or kite flyer. Today, Armitage couldn’t see another single soul in either direction. He pulled his towel out of his bag and sat down, breathing a sigh of relief and shutting his eyes momentarily as he took in the heat of the sun on his face, hands sinking into the warm sand as he listened to the gentle back and forth whoosh of the waves. The maddening loop of the boardwalk’s fairground music and loud screams and hollers was barely audible now. It was so relaxing, he decided to lay down for a minute just to take it in, feeling the cool breeze from the sea travel over his skin.

After a few minutes, he sat back up. He took out his lunch and began to eat as he looked out at the sea, gaze fixed on a flock of seagulls hovering and swooping in frantic circles above the sea line. His gaze followed down to the sea itself as he watched one of the larger gulls dive into the water in search of food. Several others followed suit, descending from the air and plunging beak first into the waves.

And then he saw it. The tail. At first, Armitage assumed the gulls must have disturbed some form of fish too large to pluck out of the ocean. But then he saw it again, the red, pearlescent scales glimmering in the sunlight as they rose out of the water once more. The gulls retreated, and Armitage began to feel a sense of unease as he watched the large, finned tail rise and fall amongst the waves, approaching the edge of the tide faster and faster.

But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the sea. At first, Armitage thought he was looking at a human being, but then he spotted the red tail again.

He jumped, startled then as he realised the tail belonged to the same creature, shimmering pearlescent scales comprising of the entire lower half of its body. It didn’t have human legs, but the upper half of the creature seemed to largely resemble that of a human. Armitage watched in a mixture of fascination and terror as the being climbed up onto a large rock formation by the edge of the water, humanoid arms manoeuvring itself onto a rock until its tail had curled around into a seated position. Armitage was transfixed, his mother had often read stories of mermaids and mermen as a child, but they obviously weren’t real. Of course they weren’t real.

And why was it, that even at this distance, he could tell the creature was looking back at him too?

He felt spooked, then, gathering his belongings together and jumping to his feet. His heart raced as he turned away from the sight, afraid of what he’d seen and why. By the time he reached the rickety, splinter-laden steps to the boardwalk, Armitage was practically running. He returned to his workplace half an hour earlier, feeling so anxious and confused by the incident he was unable to finish his lunch. _Just what or who exactly had he witnessed emerging from the ocean?_

That question had plagued him throughout the evening, keeping him up all night as he tried to memorise the image of the creature, its emergence, and its apparent interest in him. And it was somewhere during the early hours of the morning, as the sun began to rise, that Armitage realised he needed to see the creature again, speak to them, find out who or what they were. Surely they would return? They’d taken such an apparent interest in him after all, at the very least, seemingly intrigued. It would only make sense to seek this soul out further.

By the time his midday break came around the next day, it’d taken everything Armitage had to not practically _run_ to the shore.

His heart sank when he saw nothing. The rock remained empty for the entirety of his break, as it did the next day, and the day after that. Over a week had gone by, and despite continuing to visit the exact same spot of the secluded beach area, Armitage had all but given up on the idea he’d ever see the sea creature again. He felt a strange, unwelcoming sting of tears in his eyes as he sat by the beach eating his sandwich that afternoon. The sight of the empty rock gave him a hollow, empty feeling whenever he looked at it, and yet for whatever reason, here he was once again gazing back at it longingly.

His break almost over, Armitage began to pack up his belongings to leave, a weary sense of disappointment in his chest. Then he heard the gulls, the nearby splashing of water. As then, as he looked across back to the rock, Armitage dropped his bag in shock as his eyes finally set upon the mysterious creature, re-emerged and once more staring right back at him. This time, without even thinking, he began to make his way over to them. He tread slowly, approaching at a cautious pace. He didn’t want the being to be scared away in the same fashion he himself had been last week. To his delight, however, they did not budge, maintaining the same, somewhat enamoured stare they had previously. Armitage picked up his pace to a run, heart racing in anticipation, and yet he found himself speeding up further to get to his destination quicker.

By the time he reached the creature, he was almost out of breath.

‘You’ve been watching me,’ Armitage breathed, bending down to reach their level, crossing his legs. ‘I saw you last week. Why?’

‘I know, I’m sorry,’ they admitted. ‘I hope I didn’t startle you last week. I come up to the surface for shells, you see. Can’t really pluck them from those inhabiting the sea, you know, but I love to collect washed up ones.’ The dark haired creature smiled, and as they did so, Armitage was finally allowed to take in their features. The red tail of the lower half of their body lead up to an apparently human torso, covered with beautiful, intricate tattoos that seemed to swirl, coil and intertwine over a muscular physique. It felt strange to admit, but this sea creature, or merperson, as it seemed, was undeniably entrancing to him. But the most endearing quality of their appearance was perhaps their face, their slightly crooked smile, plump lips and ruffled black hair that sat just against their shoulder gave them such an ethereal beauty. The most unusual thing about this stranger from the sea’s appearance however, seemed to be their eyes. They were a dark shade of brown, nothing outside of the ordinary of a human’s, but there was an added shimmer to them, something intangible and dreamlike.

‘It’s OK, I’d just hoped you’d return,’ Armitage found himself replying. He crawled a little closer. ‘What do you call yourself?’

They paused, gaze turning up to the sky to ponder the question.

‘Well, I suppose I’d call myself a Merman. But my name, if that was what you were asking, is Kylo. Am I right to assume you’re a human? I’ve watched many of them on the beach and you seem to look similar to them. Although I have to say, I’ve never seen any with such striking hair as yours.’

‘Oh, well, thank you,’ Armitage blushed, taken aback by the compliment. His hair had always been something that made him feel very self-conscious.

‘Do you have a name?’ Kylo asked.

‘Armitage,’ he replied, collecting himself, watching as Kylo reached for a pearly pink conch shell by the side of the rock.

‘I used to like gathering shells too,’ he told him, after a brief hesitation. ‘I had a rather large collection of them when I was young, actually.’

‘You _had_ a collection?’ Kylo asked, brows furrowed as he looked up then. ‘What happened to it?’

Armitage paused. Was there really any need to tell a complete stranger, let alone one who had just mysteriously emerged from the sea, anything deeper about his life?

Then again, was there also any real need in anything he did these days?

‘Well, my father didn’t approve of it, he took them all and threw them in the bin,’ Armitage shrugged. ‘I think he thought it would make me seem strange or something, I don’t know.’

Kylo frowned at that, looking over the conch shell in his webbed palms.

‘Well, Armitage, your father sounds like an idiot. Shells are fascinating, don’t you think?’ He paused for a brief moment before lifting the shell out in his open palms to Armitage. ‘I think you’re just as fascinating as this shell. You should take it, hide it from your father if you have to…’

Armitage hesitated for a moment before finally taking the gift offered to him.

‘Thank you.’

Something in the back of Armitage’s mind questioned whether or not this situation was even really taking place at all. Had he fallen asleep on the beach, was he dreaming? It didn’t feel like a dream. But then again…

‘I have to go.’

The sound of Kylo’s voice broke Armitage’s train of thought then, and he’d barely even had a chance to look up from his fixed gaze upon the conch shell before he was met with the sight of Kylo’s glistening tail retreating back into the sea. It dipped above and below the surface several times, before disappearing completely.

Suddenly feeling a strange sense of abandonment, Armitage rose to his feet.

‘Wait, don’t!’ he found himself croaking out. _Had he done something to hurt or offend him?_ Armitage worried. _Why had he left so abruptly?_

It wasn’t long before he got his answer. From a nearby distance, he heard the sound of malicious snickering. Armitage turned his head to see a nearby group of teenagers, just making their way onto the secluded area of the beach. Armitage’s cheeks burned in embarrassment, knowing he must have looked insane _, a man alone, shouting at the sea._

He realised then that he couldn’t just stay here, gawping in disbelief at the tide. With some effort, he managed to finally pry his gaze away from the empty sight, scrambling to gather his belongings and making a hasty exit from the beach.

As Armitage remerged on the boardwalk and walked back up in the direction of the ticket booth, his mind was clouded with a mixture of confusion as to what had just happened and frustration that he’d voluntarily cut his break short. _Just how much time away from the confines of that stuffy ticket booth had he sacrificed?_ He looked down to his watch.

_Wait, what?_

He squinted at the time on the clock-face, lifting his shades up onto his forehead to ensure he had read the time correctly. It was almost 2pm. How was that possible? He’d reached the beach just after midday, and had barely had a moment to take a bite of his lunch before he’d spotted what he did on the shore. And even then, surely the whole exchange couldn’t have lasted more than five minutes…

Armitage was so caught up in his own bewilderment, he didn’t even notice the lengthy queue of angry customers lining up on the pier leading to the ticket booth

And his immediate reaction was fear. A deep seated, intangible sense of terror. Because if Armitage knew this mass customer disgruntlement had taken place, then Brendol would inevitably too. Brendol would take over from him in just a few hours, and by the evening, he knew a whole array of pissed off customers would be teaming at the ticket booth to air their grievances.

Questioning whether or not anything within the apparent past few hours had even taken place at all, Armitage braved the crowds, and returned to his station.

He hid his conch shell in his staff locker until his shift had ended, and spent the rest of his shift thinking of Kylo.

\----

Armitage awoke the next morning, having thankfully had no run-in or remote interaction with his father whatsoever the night before. He’d even felt a sense of peace and relaxation as he’d taken a step into his shower the next morning. He wasn’t due to work the boardwalk until the evening, and unlike most afternoons in which he was forced to work, he had plans. He was going to go back to his usual spot, back to the rock formation by the underside of the pier, back to…

‘I received a complaint yesterday, Armitage.’

Armitage’s happy thoughts were broken by the sight of his father, sitting at the dining table, no plate or cup before him.

_Why was he not at work?_

The younger man hesitated for a moment, before mustering up the courage to at least plead ignorance to the situation.

‘Oh, really?’

 _‘Oh really?_ ’ Brendol mimicked, malicious sneer plastered across his face, eyebrows raised. ‘Do you not recall that, Armitage? Do you not recall the fact you decided to take a two hour long break from your job?’

He stood up, and Armitage instinctively felt an anticipatory lump form in his chest, his heart palpating in his chest as his father pulled out his chair and approached him.

_And why was it, that in this moment, his mind was for some reason jumping back to yesterday, to his memories of Kylo, the fictional being he’d probably never actually even met?_

Brendol drew closer, and somehow, the concept of his and Kylo’s relationship seemed even more painful to think of.

‘Do you even respect me at all, boy?’ Brendol hissed, his large fists clamping over Armitage’s, walking him back against the dry wall, pinning him to it.

Armitage couldn’t bear to look into the angry sneer of his father’s eyes anymore, snapping his eyelids shut and feeling the terror rise from his stomach, up through his chest and into his mouth. The fear dared his lips to tremble, his body to shake and his eyes to burn. Armitage knew what was coming, and in this moment, despite how brief his interaction with merman had gone on, all he could think about was Kylo.

Brendol took a fist full of Armitage’s hair, and even though his eyes watered with pain and fear, knowing exactly what was about to happen, still, his mind travelled to Kylo. That kind smile, his beautiful black hair and shimmering, red tale. The last thing Armitage imagined in his mind was the merman’s outstretched hand, presenting the conch shell to him. It calmed him until it didn’t. Until Brendol took the first punch to his face, and then his torso. But still, Armitage tried to stay in that place even as he hit the cold, hard tiles of the kitchen floor. He felt his consciousness waning, and tried to block out his current experience with those brief, comforting memories of the mysterious stranger. Eventually, everything went dark.

\----

Armitage did not return to the beach for the rest of the week, not even so much as to take a brief walk along the emptier portion of the boardwalk to escape the chaos of the amusements. He’d mostly spent his lunch breaks alone in the staff room, faking a smile and forcing an anecdotal explanation for the black eye he was now sporting to any concerned colleagues. A truly _hilarious_ mishap at home involving a falling boat paddle. The story was ludicrously implausible, but that didn’t matter, because everyone loved and respected Brendol. A wonderful, altruistic man like Brendol Hux could do no wrong, after all. No, someone like him could and _would never_ hurt his son in such a way!

And so, not wanting to make things worse for himself, Armitage kept largely to himself, staying out of Brendol’s way as best as he could. As always, the incident was never brought up after the fact. This in itself hurt Armitage, but strangely, he found, this time it was different. This time, there was a very different sort of pain, more intangible, unshakeable and confusing as it ached in his chest. It was a longing for something he’d seldom felt in his life. Something so inconsequential, so _ridiculously brief_ he berated himself for it. But he needed to feel it again.

_He needed to see Kylo._

Armitage waited until dusk the following night before slipping out. It was the only night he had off in which he was certain Brendol would be at work until the last of the pier lights shut down, so he’d have until about midnight. Despite this, he still found his heart pounding against his chest as he took warily quick paces down the isolated boardwalk area and down onto the beach. The dim, grey-blue filter of the twilight made it hard to make out the rock he’d first met Kylo on, but he strode on, arms wrapped around his shivering, thin frame. The usually welcomed breeze of the sea air was not quite so at night, the icy draft managing to crawl into whatever crevice of his clothing he’d failed to leave exposed, giving him goose-bumps under the thin material of his jacket. Still, Armitage powered on, feeling a short lived sense of relief as he neared his destination.

Only to find it empty. Armitage sat down on the rock, looking out at the dark sea in hope of some sign of something else out there. Without the illumination of sunlight, the steady flow of the waves seemed lifeless and eerie, less of an unexplored wonder and more of a deep, terrifying abyss. Ten minutes elapsed, then twenty, and finally, after an hour or so had passed, his hopes fizzled out and his heart sank. He cursed under his breath, feeling a lump form in his throat and his eyes burn with tears. Kylo wasn’t coming back.

_You fucking idiot, what did you expect? Why would he still be there waiting for you?_

Perhaps he’d been deluded by desperation, Armitage thought to himself, wiping the threat of tears from his eyes and taking a deep breath.

_Or maybe worse, he’d imagined last week’s interaction in its entirety._

Disheartened and defeated, Armitage stood and made a move to leave, having just about accepted his reality.

And then he heard that deep, soft voice.

‘Armitage? Is that you?’

Armitage’s heart raced then as he turned to see the merman once again, perched upon the very same rock he’d just got up from. The tail curled up around his torso still managed to shimmer, even in the dim light.

‘…Kylo?’

‘Oh, Armitage, I’m so glad you’ve returned!’ Kylo smiled, his deep, soft voice so instantly (albeit a little confusingly) familiar and comforting to him.

‘How did you know?’ Armitage asked as he took several steps back towards the rock, slowed by his disbelief.

Kylo laughed, shrugging his shoulders. ‘I’m not sure. I’m sorry to startle you. I think, maybe, I can sense you, does that sound strange? I’m glad you’re here though. I have something to give you.’

‘You can _sense_ me?’ Armitage asked, kneeling back down against the rock formation next to Kylo, cross legged and eyes wide.

‘Yes, probably! I’ve been so excited to give this gift to you since I found it, and I’ve been trying to sense you since. I was afraid you wouldn’t return.’

Armitage opened his mouth to explain, but closed it immediately. How _could_ he explain?

‘Now, close your eyes and hold out your hands!’ Kylo continued, thankfully not waiting for an explanation.

Armitage closed his eyes, holding out his palms and pressing them together, suddenly met with the feel of something cold and jagged.

‘Ok, you can open them now.’

He opened his eyes, excited to see what rare, deep sea relic he’d been presented with by this mysterious stranger...

It was a rusty bottle opener.

‘Do you like it? I’ve never seen anything like it before,’ Kylo beamed. ‘I figured it must be some form of ancient treasure!’

Armitage paused as he contemplated a response.

‘I love it, Kylo. Thank you,’ he replied, because he _did_ love it. No one had gone to the trouble to gift him something so thoughtful since his mother had died.

‘You do? Oh, I’m so glad!’

Caught up in his appreciation of his new deep sea relic, Armitage found himself shuffling along the rock formation, closer to the merman. The sky had dimmed to a velvety black by this point, the moon up now illuminating his features to Kylo. His red hair, the rare smile on his lips, his black eye…

‘What happened to your eye?’

 _Shit._ Armitage had been caught up in the moment he’d forgotten all about it.

‘I…’

‘Someone hurt you,’ Kylo stated, motioning a webbed hand out towards Armitage’s face. He flinched away slightly, and Kylo moved his hand away. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...’

‘It’s fine,’ Armitage shook his head, gaze drawn down to his shivering hands, still clasped around his gift. ‘Really, I’m OK.’

‘Your father hurts you.’

Armitage looked up then, eyes wide with shock. ‘How...how did you know that?’

‘Like I said, I can sense you,’ Kylo replied, the bright smile had faded into a glum expression now. Whatever it was he’d sensed about Armitage’s life had clearly hurt to experience.

‘Is that something your kind can always do? Are you magical?’ Armitage asked, trying to steer the conversation away from himself. He didn’t want to upset his new friend.

‘Sort of, yes. But it’s hard to sense each other. Humans, even more so.’

‘I guess I must be special then,’ Armitage forced a half-hearted laugh.

‘I think you are,’ Kylo replied. ‘You must be.’

And something about that statement caught Armitage so off guard he didn’t quite know how to respond.

‘You’re unhappy here, aren’t you?’ Kylo asked, reaching out and placing a hand on Armitage’s balled up fists, still coiled tightly around the rusty bottle opener. This time, he didn’t flinch. The sensation of Kylo’s hands against his was surprisingly warm and soft, and even though it was such a simple gesture, it felt incredibly intimate. It was ridiculous to feel that way, Armitage reasoned with himself, growing up in a house purged of affection for so long seemed to amplify any sort of kindness thrown towards him.

‘Yes,’ he admitted finally.

‘If only my magic was powerful enough, you could come live with me in the ocean, away from your father and this horrible place.’

‘Well, _if only_ ,’ Armitage scoffed, chuckling at the ludicrous image in his head then of the two of them disappearing into the sea together, never to be seen again.

But Kylo wasn’t laughing with him, a vaguely hurt expression forming across his face. Armitage felt a sudden pang of guilt then.

‘What if I visit you here instead?’ Armitage suggested, worried he’d upset the merman. ‘I could meet you at this spot every week, if you’d like.’ It wasn’t just a suggestion to placate his new friend’s feelings, he really did want to see him again.

Kylo’s face lit up at that. ‘I’d like that, Armitage. I’d like that very much.’

\----

As promised, Armitage returned to the shore at the same time the next week. This time, he’d brought his own present for Kylo. A decorated conch shell he’d had perched on his windowsill for over a decade. It was one of a whole collection that had once resided there. Back when his mother had been there, she’d often taken to scavenging for shells on the beach and gluing plastic beads and jewels onto them. She’d often give them to Armitage, and although he secretly found them a little tacky, he’d valued them nonetheless. He figured he had enough to give one away. Kylo had been overjoyed by it, holding it up to the light to examine it with deep fascination. Armitage hadn’t quite expected Kylo to then proceed to pull him into a slightly too-tight hug, but he welcomed it all the same. It had been the first time he’d been held by someone in such a way in years, and despite his reservations, it felt good. It felt right.

Armitage had not been able to stop thinking of Kylo for the rest of the week following that day, his mind constantly replaying the look on Kylo’s face as he’d handed him the shell and their then unexpected embrace. Everything felt strangely different since meeting Kylo. Even during his gruelling Wednesday night shift that week, as Armitage endured the endless onslaught of difficult customers, arduous tasks, and relentless judgemental remarks from Brendol, he felt as if there were something shielding him from it all. Thinking of his small handful of meetings with Kylo gave him a rather intangible yet strangely grounding, protective bubble around him in the otherwise relentless sea of chaos of his day to day life. It was a place Brendol couldn’t wheedle into no matter what he said or did to him because a man like his father could and _would_ never believe a creature like Kylo existed.

That Thursday night, he’d all but ran across the deserted beach towards their usual spot.

The weeks went on, and with each week that went by, Armitage found himself growing closer and closer to Kylo. The two spent hours doing nothing more than exchanging stories of their week, Kylo regularly updating Armitage on the gossipy dolphins that lived by the Antipathes fields, and the array of rare ‘treasures’ he’d found to decorate his sea cave home with. From what Armitage could ascertain from Kylo’s descriptions, the walls were mostly decorated with bottle caps, shards of broken glass, and the occasional fucked beyond repair phone. Perhaps he’d have laughed, if Kylo hadn’t found his discoveries all so beautiful he’d chosen to display them in his home. That fact alone was endearing. Armitage had only wished he’d had anything quite as interesting, in his opinion, to tell. He omitted a lot, Brendol and his work didn’t need to exist when he spoke to the merman. Instead, he spoke of his time whale watching on the beach, his fascination with the ocean and its creatures, his somewhat hypocritical love of the pier side stand’s candy floss...

‘I know you can’t live underwater, but humans can swim, can’t they?’ Kylo asked, one evening, just shy of two months since their first encounter. ‘Well, what if we could at least swim out together through this just once? I know you’ve always wanted to.’

The following week, Armitage had travelled down to the shore at their usual time, usual spot, swimwear underneath his clothes and heart thumping madly in his chest. Despite his love of the ocean, he had to admit to himself that he’d always been just that little bit afraid of delving into it beyond its shallow depths. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he’d always found himself growing attached to that which scared him.

Although, as he’d pulled his baggy sweatshirt up over his head and pulled down his jeans, Armitage wasn’t really sure what bothered him the most. Being immersed into a full body of impossibly deep water, or revealing his almost completely naked body to someone he still wasn’t quite 100% sure existed.

‘Don’t worry, Armitage,’ Kylo assured him. ‘I’ll be right next you.’

Armitage decided to lean towards the former issue, smiling and agreeing that Kylo would keep him safe in the water. He took Kylo’s hands, stepping off from their usual meeting point with very little pause to acknowledge the subtle webs in the crevices of Kylo’s fingers as they partially entwined with his, pulled him into the water, pulled him forward. And then in very little time Armitage found himself speeding through a seemingly endless body of water, initial shock of the sea’s spiky cold wearing off, his only concern being the slight breathlessness as Kylo sped ahead with him in tow, webbed hand still tightly and thankfully enclosed around his own. Eventually, the sea began to darken, and Kylo stopped, their journey back to a reduced speed, slow, rhythmic bobbing of Kylo’s reflective tail resumed and fingers remaining tightly wound against Armitage’s.

After a while, they returned to the shore. It had been a good night.

Once they reached the wet sand, Armitage reluctantly let go of Kylo’s grasp, standing to his feet in order to retrieve the items he’d discarded just a short way away from the edge of one of the pier’s rotting wooden pillars. He dried himself off with his towel, and changed into his dry clothes. Sadly, it was once again almost midnight, Armitage knowing this only by the lyrics of a popular 1960’s tune which was repeated weekly on the pier side’s wurlitzer organ like clockwork every night just before closing time.

Every week the felt departure was increasingly painful, and he’d started to notice. Armitage felt a significantly deep sadness that night, a longing to stay with Kylo. But how could that ever possibly be?

‘Tonight was wonderful, Kylo,’ Armitage smiled. ’Same time next week?’

‘Yes, same time next week, Armitage,’ Kylo smiled back. But to Armitage’s increased sadness, Kylo’s usually bright tone now seemed somewhat affected and forced, his now decidedly dull composure only backed Armitage’s worries further.

‘Is everything OK?’

‘I just wish we were together,’ Kylo admitted.

‘I’m sorry, darling. I wish we were too.’ _And since when had he taken to calling him pet names?_

‘I know, Armitage. It’s OK. I know.’

Armitage felt his heart drop, but what else could he really say?

Eventually it was time to leave, and Armitage had to force himself to say his goodbyes and turn away from Kylo, finally forcing himself to walk back towards the ascending sea-worn wooden steps leading up to the boardwalk. Life was bad, but so long as he had Kylo, well, what did it matter? He looked onwards, out at the not so distant presence of remaining boardwalk nightlife. A familiar boom of dance music within the only bar in the nearby vicinity, a few spot lights from the amusement park still hanging on in all their flickering glory. Sometimes it simply felt comforting to know other people’s lives just carried on around him. And these people, hopefully these people were happy, they were _good,_ they were _happy,_ they were _fine._

And in the early morning of the next day, as Brendol came home frustrated and tired and verbally took Armitage’s supposed incompetence out on him, Armitage managed to retreat to his room, squeeze his eyes shut and hold himself tight.

 _It’s alright, there’s nothing wrong,_ he told himself, his mind focusing on Kylo’s kind face. _Everything will be OK. One day, it will all be OK._

\----

The next week Armitage eagerly made his way across the boardwalk, hurrying across to his and Kylo’s usual spot on the beach. He really didn’t know what mermen enjoyed exactly, but he’d still spent the past couple of days exploring the local shops and stands in search of anything Kylo may like, finally returning with an assortment of painted shells and stones for him. Armitage’s excitement to visit Kylo at their usual time was as such, a little more than anticipatory.

But Kylo wasn’t there.

Armitage waited for several hours, before the realisation dawned on him after a long, painful wait that Kylo was not going to visit him that evening. He reluctantly returned home just in time before Brendol’s return, although the relief was short lived. He climbed into bed and felt awful, feeling that he’d maybe pushed Kylo away in some wat. But for the most part, the main thing keeping Armitage awake was that he missed him. It hurt. And perhaps this was the first time he realised how much he’d valued the merman’s company. Being around Kylo had made him feel safe, made him feel appreciated in a way he’d never experienced in adult life. And truth be told, Armitage had never cared for or appreciated anyone as much as Kylo in adult life either.

The next morning, Armitage woke up to the smell of the sea air through his partially open window and the caw of the seagulls swarming around the vicinity. He got up, dressed, and walked into his cramped kitchen. He was shocked to find that Brendol was already sitting at the dining table.

Armitage realised at once that he’d walked onto a stage. He knew momentarily that he would need to perform a character in order to keep himself safe. He’d been here many times before with his father, and yet, he felt very unwilling.

‘Sit down,’ Brendol muttered, without looking at him, relinquishing the need to utter a forced ‘good morning’.

‘Why?’ Armitage somehow found himself daring to ask then, holding his nerve long enough to pull up one of the rickety dining table chairs and sitting down.

‘I’d like to have a conversation with you,’ Brendol replied, monotone unnervingly difficult to read as he palmed the jingling set of keys in his hands. The keys to that miserable, decrepit amusement park.

‘About what?’ Armitage asked, voice monitored and controlled as always. Speaking to Brendol was and always would be a game of mental aerobatics.

‘About what?!’ Brendol scoffed, slamming the keys down on the table. He leaned forward and leered. ‘You’ve been spotted, Armitage.’

Armitage felt the panic rise then, swallowing down his anxiety and attempting to remain composed. ‘I’m sorry, what?’

‘Don’t play innocent with me, boy. People have been talking. They’ve seen you disappearing on your nights off, underneath the pier. Whilst I’m at work. I suppose that makes sense, doesn’t it?’

By this point, Armitage’s heart was beating so fast in his chest he could barely catch his breath, his hands clasped together and his eyes burning with the reluctant threat of tears. He knew this wasn’t going to end well, and as frightened as he was in this moment, all he could think of was Kylo.

‘What…what are you talking about?’ he asked.

There was a sharp screech of Brendol’s chair legs then, and the man was suddenly standing, looming over Armitage and snarling, expression glaring into the young man’s face.

‘Cut the shit, why don’t you?’ Brendol growled. ‘What is it you’ve been doing, hmm? Drugs? Selling them, fucking about with them? Or rather, perhaps, I should be asking _who_ it is you’ve been fucking about with. Do I pay you so little that you feel the need to go out and make a _mockery_ of my whole business? You’re whoring yourself out now, is that it?’

‘No!’ Armitage retorted. ‘It’s nothing like that!’

‘Oh, isn’t it?’ Brendol took a step forward then, grabbing hold of Armitage’s wrist, tightening his hold and pulling him forward.

_Armitage wished he was back with Kylo._

‘You know, you must have learned to lie from your mother. She was just like you, spineless. Lying whore of a wife she was too. I’ve always thought the apple clearly doesn’t fall far from the tree.’

And despite his terror, something in Armitage couldn’t resist then.

‘And what about you, Brendol? I’d rather be like her than be a bitter, twisted fuck like you, picking on anyone you think you’re stronger than to take out your rage. It’s not my fault she saw you for what you were before she died!’

Armitage didn’t wait for a response, whatever satisfaction he could’ve taken from the blank expression on Brendol’s face would only ever be short lived, a precursor to some horrible retort he knew he didn’t deserve. In this brief moment of clarity, Armitage ripped his hand free from his father’s grip, bolting down the outdoor staircase of their home and out across the boardwalk, running faster than he ever had before. He needed to get to the shore, get to Kylo.

 _Please, Kylo,_ Armitage thought. _Please sense me. Please, be there…_

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of heavy breathing and teary eyes, Armitage collapsed just before he reached their regular spot on the beach, covered in wet sand. He looked up through a blurred, dewy eyed gazed and saw nothing but the dark waves and the sadly clarifying light of the moon cast over Kylo’s unoccupied rock.

Armitage sobbed, it started at the base of his throat, right down to his chest, and before he knew it, he was coiling in on himself, arms wrapped around his slender waist, nose touching his knees.

 _‘Armitage?’_ a soft voice spoke then, so distant it seemed to roll across the sea air like a gentle whistle of air. But Armitage knew it was nowhere near as far away. He raised his head then, gaze cast back out towards the shoreline. And there it was, that familiar shadow.

‘Kylo?!’

Within seconds, Armitage had scrambled to his feet and ran to the familiar figure, wrapping his arms around the merman’s form, burying his head into his chest.

‘I’m sorry I disappeared,’ Kylo whispered, webbed palms stroking over his back gently. ‘I was trying to focus on my magic, you know, so we could really be together? Armitage, I think I’ve finally found the way…’

Armitage pulled away, swallowing. He looked into Kylo’s eyes then, and despite his anticipation, he knew exactly what he wanted now.

‘I want us to be together, Kylo,’ he smiled then. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too, darling,’ Kylo smiled, sliding back off his rock and into the water. He held out his hands. ‘If this is really what you want, Armitage, just step into the water and take my hands.’

Armitage took a deep breath, looking back at the pier, before turning back to the merman. In this moment, he knew, he wanted to walk right out of this world, and into the sea, where Brendol would never be able to harm him again.

‘All I want is you dear,’ he smiled. ‘Please. Show me.’

Kylo took him in his arms then, enveloping him into a warm embrace. He held him close, and Armitage felt comforted by the surprising warmth of the merman’s skin against his, a strange, rejuvenating sensation coming over him. The sea no longer felt like his enemy, it wouldn’t drown him or harm in any way. Armitage suddenly just knew he could simply slip underneath its surface now, hand in hand with Kylo, and everything would be OK. After a few moments, Kylo pressed his own lips against Armitage’s, and the human felt his whole body suddenly rejuvenated with light. The cool sea air dissipated, and suddenly, almost inconsequentially, he was underwater, hand in hand with Kylo. He was breathing, he was alive, and finally, he was content.

Together, they swam on, deep into the ocean, never to visit Brendol’s miserable pier, or the human world ever again.

Finally, at long last, they were safe, together, and they were happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Not part of the au, but the premise of this fic was inspired by a conversation with my lovely witch au friends, ty once again for inspiring my writing guys! =] <3


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